Wilmington, NC's Ties to Pearl Harbor-- Part 3

There is no memorial to the USS Shaw at Pearl Harbor.  Survivors do not attend anniversaries and none were at the 70th anniversary in 2011.  The Navy still uses Dry Dock No. 2 (but this might be the regular drydock, not the one the Shaw was in which was a floating one, the YFD-2, which was raised, repaired and rejoined the fleet in May 1942.

There is, however, a Honolulu grave site for one Wilmington man, but he wasn't at Pearl Harbor during the attack.  Navy Pharmacist 2nd Class William D. Halyburton Jr gave his life to save another and is interred at the Punchbowl National memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Here is information on the Wilmington Pearl Harbor survivors:

LT. CLARENCE EARL DICKINSON JR.  was in Scouting Squadron Six from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and offshore.  He and other pilots were planning to land their planes at Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor and flew into the midst of the attack.

He was shot down after he shot a Japanese plane down and crashed into a sugar cane field near Ewa.  He made it to Ford Island and commandeered another aircraft and took off looking for Japanese planes.

For his actions that day and for sinking the first enemy surface ship of the war a few days later, he received the first of his three Navy Crosses.

More to Come.  --GreGen